A few weeks ago I came to the conclusion that my house needed a new paint job, and the timing couldn’t have been worse as the Super Bowl was coming up. In desperation I turned to Greater Toronto Painters, and while I was prepared to watch paint dry instead of the Patriots and Seahawks, the guys at GTA surprised me with their excellence at interior painting compared to the other Toronto companies.

When I noticed the paint peeling I called GTA and told them what the problem was. The guy on the other end was very courteous and listened to me and asked some questions. He also gave me a price quote and I was surprised at how affordable it was.

The Paint Job

The company sent a painter over quickly, and I was impressed to say the least. The man was obviously a professional, well dressed, pleasant and spoke clearly. After the introductions, he showed me his referrals and credentials, which was really nice. He then took a look at the areas of the house I wanted painted over, and he studied them intently, asking questions every now and then.

Judging from his equipment and the stuff he asked, it was clear the guy knew what he was talking about. And when it came to the paint job, he worked fast and clean. To be honest I had him cover a lot of ground and I expected to pay a hefty price and suffer a long wait. But he finished up quickly and the price was just great, a real bargain. Now I know who to call next time I need a service!

The Toronto Raptors is one of the top teams in the NBA today, and at their home court in the Air Canada Centre, thousands of fans fill the place up whenever the team goes out to play. Since the team joined the NBA in 1995, it has become one of the most exciting in the league and is the only Canadian club left after the Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis.

Early Years: the Vince Carter Era

When the Raptors joined the league as an expansion team, they struggled to compete, but things changed for the better when the team acquired Vince Carter in 1998 via a draft trade. Carter’s highlight reels and the upgraded roster helped the Raptors compete in and set NBA attendance records.

From being a struggling expansion team, the Raptors made the playoffs in 2000, 2001, and 2002. During this period, Vince Carter played a pivotal role in keeping the Raptors in contention, and during this time, Carter led the team to a then record 47 wins and a playoff series victory in 2001 when the Raptors made it to the Eastern Conference semis.

The Post Carter Era

Because the Raptors couldn’t improve in the 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons, management decided to revamp the team and traded Carter in 2004 to the New Jersey Nets. Following the departure of Carter, Chris Bosh became the team’s leader. In 2006–07, Bryan Colangelo became the Raptors’ General Manager and President, and he was responsible for getting Bosh and 2006 number 1 draft pick Andrea Bargnani together.

With this revamped lineup, the Toronto Raptors became playoff contenders again and, winning 47 games, winning the Atlantic Division title and made the playoffs after a five year absence. The team made it to the playoffs in the 2007–08 season but failed to reach the postseason for the next five seasons, and Bosh moved to Miami.

The Present Era

In 2013, Masai Ujiri became the new Raptors GM and one of the first things he did was ship Bargnani to the New York Knicks. The Raptors were now led by the backcourt duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, and the new look team made the playoffs for the first time since the 2008 season and clinched the Atlantic Division title. Although the Raptors lost to the Brooklyn Nets during the playoffs, the team is showing a lot of promise. With a young roster, the Raptors should be contending for the playoffs for many seasons.

I’m a sports fan, and to be more specific I’m a fan of the Toronto Raptors. I’ve always been a huge basketball fan, and I was so thrilled when the Raptors joined the NBA in 1995. From the days of Vince Carter to Chris Bosh and now Kyle Lowry, I’ve never failed to follow the team’s games.

However, what I want to talk to you about today isn’t the Raptors but of my wonderful experience with a local Toronto locksmith. You see I had just moved to a new house, and I wasn’t too happy with the way the locks looked. I decided to try the different locks around the place and in the course of my experiment, locked myself out of the house, with the keys inside!

Worst of all, the Raptors had a game tonight, what was I going to do?

I did some quick research on the web and found a locksmith named Mike and called him immediately. It was a Thursday when I called, and I told him what happened. I said if he could come soon please do so, and he said sure. Sure enough, Mike showed up at my door less than ten minutes later, and I was very happy to see him.

I showed Mike the door and explained to him what happened. He was very attentive and we talked a lot about locks and why this stuff happens, and he explained why having a duplicate key is very important. Anyway, I got a call and had to pick up a few things, and I let him do his thing. After a few minutes he was able to get the door open.

Excellent Service

If that was all Mike did I would’ve been more than happy, but he actually inspected all the doors and agreed with me that they could use improvement. I showed him all the doors around the house and what I wanted done, and he listened carefully, asking questions here and there. I felt like he was the top emergency locksmith from Toronto that I have had the pleasure to work with.

Mike started inspecting the doors, and when he noticed something odd, like the plastic screw on one of them, he told me about and said it should be replaced with metal. He went back to his van, got some tools out and replaced the plastic with a metal screw. All in all, Mike did an excellent job, and his fee was very reasonable, and he worked fast too.